Agenda item

To confirm as a true and correct record the Part 1 minutes of the previous meeting held on 20 October 2016.

The Board’s action log is also attached for members’ information.

The Board considered the minutes of the previous meeting held on 20 October 2016. The Chairman advised that Cllr Newbury had contacted the Board Secretary and copied him in respect of changes needed to the minuting of item 78 on the subject of the Code of Conduct. After discussion the Board was happy to make the suggested changes.

The Head of Pensions provided a verbal update on items which remained outstanding on the Board’s action log. Item 2.8 on the process for appointing auditors would be picked up at the April Board meeting, the Fund was still awaiting guidance on the implications of the Public Sector Exit Cap (Item 3.5), and on item 3.10 it was noted that only one Board members had not yet completed the tPR online toolkit.   In respect of item 3.12, it was noted that charge-out rates would be reviewed at the time the Fund was to review its administration strategy. It was explained that in reference to item 4.3, the Fund was still awaiting guidance from the Scheme Advisory Board (SAB) on the issue of indemnity insurance from the Board. The Head of Pensions advised, that if he had not heard from the SAB by April 2017, he would bring a commercial policy forward for the Board to consider, members asked that research be undertaken as to the approaches other Funds were taking.

The officer also explained that a full update would be provided on actions 4.5, 4.6 and 4.7 at the next meeting, and the completion of 5.8 in relation to the Statement of Investment Principles would also be checked. The internal audit would pick up Item 6.1 from the action log in relation to the assurance the Board could receive that the Fund was audited against the appropriate LGPS regulations. The Head of Pensions also advised that the Pensions Regulator (tPR) checklist on publishing scheme information would be included in the next Annual Report. Finally, the Board was reminded to contact the Pensions team if they were interested in attending the LGPS ‘Trustees’ Training Fundamentals three-day course.

Resolved:

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 20 October, subject to amendments to item 78 to now read:

Cllr Newbury expressed concern that the Code of Conduct and Conflict of Interest Policy went beyond the statutory requirements, another key concern included that it was not clear what constituted a conflict of interest. It was also questioned whether it was expected that in meetings members should declare interests already on the Register of Interests when they were relevant to an item on an agenda. The councillor also did not agree with the format of the Register of Interest form in that it required a date, signature and separated the interests of the member and their partner.

To request that a proposal for a commercial indemnity insurance be presented to the next meeting in the event that the Fund has not heard back from the Scheme Advisory Board. To request that this report also incorporates research from other Funds as to whether they have, or are purchasing, a commercial policy

To note the update on other items detailed in the Board’s action log.